A scaled down Hampstead Summer festival runs over two weekends in the garden of Keats House with open air theatre, family events, folk music and an art exhibition.
After being forced to cancel in 2020, the annual community event is back with highlights including an al fresco production of Twelfth Night, a family garden party run by Keats Community Library, a musical based on The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, and the ever popular Art Fair run by Hampstead School of Art.
To control numbers and maintain Covid precautions, organisers opted for a smaller community festival instead of the usual street fair in Hampstead High Street which has attracted large crowds in recent years.
“What a treat it will be, after months of lockdown, to bring back this popular fixture on the Hampstead summer calendar,” said founding committee member Els Bauer. “We really can’t wait to see everyone again.”
The Festival kicks off on June 26 with the art fair, exhibiting paintings and sculpture by local artists alongside craft and food stalls, ice creams and a wine bar. On Sunday 27, Drama Impact company performs a family friendly version of Twelfth Night, where children can come and see the Jacobean-style costumes and talk to the actors before the performance. The company previously brought Much Ado About Nothing to Keats House in 2019 and artistic director David Houston said: "Drama Impact are very pleased to be once again be performing in the amazing gardens of the poet John Keat's former home in Hampstead which lends itself perfectly to a summer's afternoon or evening of Shakespeare."
July 3, sees a new folk musical by Broomdasher celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Edith Holden’s birth, with extracts from Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady and folk music of the era sung a capella. And the festival culminates on July 4 with a garden party with rhyme-time, storytelling, art activities, a giant chess set, a birds of prey demonstration, and a display of the finalists of the Children’s Art Competition. Refreshments include ice creams, tea and cake and a wine bar.
Profits from the 2021 events will support Keats Community Library and Hampstead School of Art "two important and cherished community organisations that depend on the Festival's support to continue their vital work in our community".
For more information or to get involved visit http://www.hampsteadsummerfestival.com/
Bookings for Twelfth Night on https://dramaimpact.com/event-listing-page/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here